While you were away: This week’s top travel stories

A whale gave boaters a lift in Argentina.

Too busy to keep up with everything that’s happening in the world of travel? No worries. We collected all the best travel news the Internet had to offer this week and packed it neatly into one place.

A taxing situation
September 11 Security fees, funds imposed by the TSA upon each leg of a passenger flight, are going up this week according to CNN. Originally intended to increase safety measures at airports, this week’s incremental rise is part of a plan to pay down the deficit. If they really want to pay down the deficit fast, how about a tax on passengers who drone on about their boring lives while we’re trying to get some sleep?

Whale that was fun
Kayakers in Puerto Madryn, Argentina got a surprise life from a friendly whale this week, says Canoe & Kayak, which hosts a video of the incident. As their boat floated over the colossal mammal, the whale gently raised the kayak—twice. The boaters seemed oddly nonplussed.

Hashtag adios
A Minnesota man was allegedly booted off a Southwest Airlines flight for posting an angry tweet Yahoo News reports. The incident happened at the Denver airport where the man took to Twitter to complain about a rude gate agent who reportedly refused to accommodate his children in priority seating. On the bright side, at least he got the boot while the plane was still on the ground.

Gnarly iceberg, dude!
CNN highlighted a new film this week, “Arctic Swell: Surfing the ends of the earth,” which documents surf photographer Chris Burkard and his buddies as they batter the cold and search for the perfect wave in frigid Norway. Filmmaker Burhard says he loves to suffer but we say he doesn’t have to.  May we recommend cranking up the A/C and standing on your ironing board instead?

unreLAXing
As construction gears up for a new rail line at Los Angeles International Airport, traffic is about to get really, really bad. According to the LA Times, Beginning at 9pm tonight, motorists should expect severe traffic stalls along Century Boulevard (the airport’s main artery) through 6am Monday morning as workers demolish an old rail line to make room for a new one. Motorists should also expect heavy traffic and delays everywhere else in Los Angeles because, well, it’s Los Angeles.

Green Party
The Huffington Post just released its list of the most eco-friendly lodgings in the world. Included in the roundup are geodesic domes in Patagonia, a collapsible tent-like hotel designed by a Chinese architecture firm and the LEED-certified Mandarin Hotel Las Vegas. Of course in Vegas sustainable probably means locally sourced poker chips.

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